Is Nuclear Power Worth the Benefits? – Survey of the Day

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in Japan. While that tragedy highlighted the downside to nuclear power, has it changed opinions about the energy source?

Comparing a recently conducted Harris Interactive survey of 2,056 American adults to a similar Harris survey from a little more than a year ago suggests there has been a slight shift in the public opinion concerning nuclear energy.

Forty-one percent of the more recent poll’s respondents believe the risks of nuclear energy outweigh the benefits, whereas 40 percent think the benefits outweigh the risks.

When Harris asked the same question in 2011, right before Fukushima, 44 percent answered the benefits outweighed the risk and only 34 percent thought the risks of nuclear power were greater than the benefits.